steve barrett

Having that tumor removed makes your mustache more noticeable.

Split tongues are nothing new. The first known, or first photographed, split tongue was in 1996. Shortly after the Lizardman, who’s well known in pop culture, split his tongue in 1997.

This one’s possessed…

I wonder how much control each has over the body.

I’m a New Scientist subscriber and I’ve been following this line of research for quite a while now. This whole topic really stems back a good number of years - back to the times when PETA came to be because of early neurological research on primates. The research has been making leaps and bounds over just the last several years as it reaches a state mature enough to engage in experiments such as this.

I read a book called The Mind and the Brain by a brilliant neurologist by the name of Jeffrey Schwartz; the book covered a multitude of subjects but one thing he touched on quite a bit was the cortical maps within the brain - more specifically the plasticity of cortical maps. He spoke of researchers severing the neural connection in the brain to a finger for instance, and then slowly training primates to relearn how to use the affected finger. The research improved our knowledge of both how to map the cortical map for motor skills and also how the brain can change its map over time - even in adulthood.

With this research, we are now finally coming into the age of “smart” prosthetics that behave much in the same way that your real limbs do in everyday life. You simply think of reaching over to grab your cup of coffee - and your arm proceeds to play out the program to do so. As you can see in the video below, the monkey has learned to control a robotic prosthetic arm that has been directly wired into the motor cortical map. This is simply astonishing if you ask me.

First of all, this is real. Well, it’s an illustration of a real disorder called Harlequin Ichthyosis. It’s essentially dry skin but it also affects the development of the eyes, mouth, nose, and limbs.

This video creeped me out. I could feel this thing peering deep into my soul and terrorizing me from the inside out. I cannot imagine a birth defect as horrible as this. According to wikipedia most babies borth with Harlequin Ichthyosis die within hours or days, but occasionally one will make it to adulthood.

Meet Ryan González, once a harlequin baby Ryan has become a harlequin man and triathlete. He has to apply lotion to his entire body up to 7 times a day and eats a large amount of food to compensate for all the skin he sheds.

Ryan isn’t the only one; a girl named Lucy from somewhere in Europe has also survived Harlequin Ichthyosis into adulthood. DNA samples and heavy research into the disorder has traced it back to a genetic disorder that causes a specific protein to not function.

You have to somehow wonder how these people find the courage to carry on with such a dabilitating disorder, although I’m sure if you were to ask one of them how they do it they would shrug you off as though it’s a dumb question. I suppose it is, what other option do you have, and what other life have you known when this is how you are and how you’ve always been. It’s who you are. Regardless, I have endless respect.

update: August 31, 2008

Caught this on liveleak. A baby was bord with Harlequin Icthyosis in Turkey.

Isn’t it wild how seemingly oblivious the parents are to the whole thing.

Maury has got such an enormous archive of shows like this, they’re wonderful. You’ve got to be impressed by his expert exploitation under the guise of offering help; all in exchange for television ratings.

400lb jessica

A few months ago The Tree Man aka Dede made his rounds on the web and news outlets. His odd growths began after he got a cut on his knee early in life. An American dermatologist decided to investigate and found out that The Tree Man’s disorder was actually a form of the Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV, that had monopolized on a genetic fault that inhibited his body’s immune system from stopping the growths.

Well as an update to the story, Dede has begun treatment to keep his HPV at bay. He has also undergone surgery to remove much of the tough matter that has sprouted from his body. Based on his face in the photos it looks like he was happier with branches coming out of his hands and feet.

You’re looking at the face of Huang Chuncai. A Chinese peasant suffering from a rare case of neurofibroma, which is a tumor with roots buried deep within the nerves. Huang’s tumor only became apparent around the age of 4. The tumor now weighs nearly 15 lbs.

Huang underwent facial reconstructive and tumor amputation surgery in July of 2007. Due to his low income the hospital agreed to lower costs and run some fund raisers for him. Unfortunately the surgery wound up being the first in a series that over the next couple of years should greatly reduce the mass of his tumors and allow him to integrate with society on a level he hasn’t been capable of since his youth.

If you’re ever feeling sad or lonely, think of Huang Chuncai.